Confrontations
by Dylan S. Thompson
Summary: Severus is called to meet Voldemort, and the two of them have a little chat.


I wait in the antechamber of Voldemort's temporary office. Everyone calls it a temporary office, but, during the last war, his temporary office was the same room for years. His office is in the deepest dungeon in Malfoy Manor. Lucius Malfoy is neither Voldemort's most loyal follower (but then again, not many truly loyal followers are outside of prison) or his favorite. What he was was the most placating. Anything Voldemort needs, Lucius gives him.  
  
The door leading into Voldemort's office suddenly opened, and, to Severus' immense surprise, Peter Pettigrew was standing there. For a moment, Severus' wall of composure that he had spent days building faltered, and all he could do was stare at Peter in shock.  
  
After everything that happened during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Severus was willing to believe that Sirius Black was truly innocent. Dumbledore would never trust anybody that wasn't. He had been willing to believe that, but he hadn't completely believed that Peter Pettigrew was still alive. Until now.  
  
Now that Severus had proof that Peter was still alive, hot and intense anger started to build inside of him. This was the man responsible for Lily's death. All of Severus' hard work to keep Lily (along with her brat and idiot of a husband) safe had all been ruined by this bumbling idiot! The anger that he felt in his stomach slowly moved to his eyes, and he gave Peter a look so filled with contempt that he shrunk away from it and whimpered.  
  
All of this happened in a matter of seconds, and, while Severus was staring down Peter, Lucius Malfoy (his supposed best friend), slowly walked out. As Severus watched Lucius carefully make his way out of, he finally knew for certain why he had been called here. Severus had seen many men walk the way Lucius was walking. Hell, he had walked that way himself. It was the walk of someone who had just been tortured with the Cruciatus curse.  
  
He had been called here to be punished. Not for being a double agent, but for renouncing the Dark Lord.  
  
After Lucius was out of the room, Peter motioned for Severus to follow him into the office. Severus followed him without a word. Severus feared that if he opened his mouth he would start screaming at Pettigrew. And after the screaming he would probably try to kill the man.  
  
Voldemort had magicked the damp and cold dungeon into a warm and cozy office. Voldemort was sitting behind a desk that sat at the far end of the room. He sat straight up, with his elbows resting on the table and his fingers steepled under his nose. Severus could see that he was smiling behind his fingers. The torture session he had just finished probably had put him in good spirits.  
  
Nobody talked for nearly a minute. Voldemort just sat there and observed Severus. Severus stood there, and stared straight back, and Peter shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Finally, Voldemort's gaze left Severus and focused on Peter. "You may leave now." He hissed quietly.  
  
Peter jumped, slightly alarmed, but obeyed and quickly left the room. Peter had stayed in the room for the previous three torture sessions. And he had especially enjoyed the Malfoy one. Peter had never liked Malfoy, and seeing him writhing on the floor in agony made him happier than he had been in months. But he had been dreading staying for Snape's. There was a tension in that room that you could see. No fear, only tension. And, there was some kind of history with those two. Some secret thing that nobody but them knew. And Peter believed that if he had stayed in that room, he would end up being hurt in some way.  
  
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Back in the office, neither man had moved. After Peter had left, Voldemort had simply shifted his gaze back to Severus and resumed observing him. Finally, after a long silence, it was Voldemort that broke the silence. "Hello Severus. It's nice to see you again."  
  
Severus only nodded in return. There were only a few people that Voldemort had ever known that would get away with nodding at him. And Severus was the only person still alive.  
  
Voldemort stood from his chair and slowly made his way around the desk. Eventually he was standing right in front of Severus. Voldemort leaned against the front of his desk and said, "You know, there are several reasons why you should be on the ground screaming right now."  
  
Again, Severus only nodded.  
  
"Foremost among those would be your disloyalty to me. I'm not mistaken in believing that you were one of the many who claimed to be under Imperious at the time? Hearing of the many who said that, made me very angry." Continued Voldemort, with a small smile playing on his lips.  
  
Severus looked Voldemort straight in the eyes and spoke for the first time since entering the office. "If you wanted absolute loyalty from your men, you should've recruited out of Hufflepuff."  
  
Voldemort let out a loud peal of laughter. He laughed for longer than Severus had ever heard him do before. It seemed to him that Voldemort had gained more of a sense of humor since his downfall. After Voldemort recomposed himself, he said, "Yes, I guess you're right."  
  
Severus smiled for the first time since being called and continued, "The sad truth is that almost everybody in your ranks are here because of a thirst for power. The second you fell, your promise of power went away and so did the men's loyalty to you."  
  
Voldemort nodded and looked at Severus seriously, "You said 'almost everybody' was in it for the power. What about you? Is that why you defected?"  
  
Any shred of humor Severus had had instantly vanished, and he fixed Voldemort with a hard stare, "You know exactly why I defected." He said acidly.  
  
Voldemort let out another laugh and made his way over to his liquor cabinet. He had his back turned to Severus and was pouring himself a drink as he said, "Ah, yes, your little mudblood slut. What was her name again?"  
  
Severus' eyes were filled with hate, and he was clenching his teeth. His hands were clenched into fists so hard that his hands were turning white. "Lily. Her name was Lily." He managed to spit out.  
  
"Ah, yes." Voldemort said absently. Then he focused again and said, "You always got angry when I mentioned her. And from the tone of your voice, you're angry now. You're so predictable Severus. You like to think of yourself as mysterious, but the sad truth is that if anyone gets to know you at all, they can predict most of your actions. For example, when you get angry: you glare at whomever you're angry with. And you try to put as much hate into it as you possibly can. Also, you grind you teeth and press your lips together so hard they turn white. And finally you clench your fists together very hard. So hard, in fact, that they go white as well."  
  
Voldemort now turned around and chuckled to himself all the way back to his chair when he saw that Severus was going exactly as he had described. Voldemort sat down and looked on as Severus slowly calmed down and regained his composure.  
  
When Severus had calmed down completely, he turned his gaze to Voldemort and said in a wounded voice, "You betrayed me. I was your only confidant and your second in command. I only asked one thing of you. One Goddamn thing. And you betrayed me. I asked you not to harm Lily. And you killed her. That was the reason I didn't go to prison for you."  
  
Voldemort nodded and said, "I tried to spare her, but she wouldn't get out of the way."  
  
"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Severus screamed at his former master. "You could've thrown her out of the way! You could've done anything! You killed her because you live to kill!"  
  
Any other person alive that dared scream at Voldemort would soon be screaming in pain, but Severus was the exception. Voldemort only nodded solemnly and said, "That is why you are not to be punished for abandoning me. Turnabout is fair play and all that."  
  
Severus looked cautiously at Voldemort and asked, "You're not going to punish me?"  
  
Voldemort shook his head. "No, I believe that the last thirteen years have been punishment enough. I am willing to welcome you back, with the same benefits as before. You will be my second, and you will make the potions I need that nobody else can make. The question is: Are you willing to come back? From what I've heard, you've gotten pretty cozy with your current employer."  
  
"What if I were to say that I wasn't loyal to you anymore?" Asked Severus. "Hypothetically, of course."  
  
Voldemort smiled and said, "Of course. If you were to say no to me, then I would allow you to walk out of here unharmed. You are the only person that would receive this treatment. I don't know why, but I have always had a soft spot for you. Perhaps it is because you remind me a lot of myself. But that is beside the point. The point is: Yes, I would allow you to leave. We would likely become enemies, but I would allow you to leave."  
  
Severus nodded, and was touched despite himself. It almost sounded as if Voldemort saw him as a son. "I was only asking hypothetically of course. I would like nothing better than to return to your service. Master."  
  
Inside, Severus winced. He hated calling anyone Master. But if he was going to pull of this charade again, he would have to.  
  
"Then you are dismissed." Said Voldemort from his chair. "Go quickly, I have many people to meet with."  
  
Severus walked over to Voldemort's desk and picked up a paperweight of the Dark Mark. "Can I borrow this for a minute?"  
  
Voldemorte looked at him, puzzled, but nodded.  
  
Severus thanked him and quickly left the room. Outside, waiting in the same spot Severus had occupied earlier, was the father of Gregory Goyle. Severus didn't even acknowledge the man, instead turning to Pettigrew. Severus glared at the Peter, causing him to whimper again. Then Severus balance the paperweight on his hand, took out his wand, and transfigured it into Polaroid camera.  
  
Then he pointed it at Peter, and took several pictures, which popped out instantly. He made sure to get Peter's silver hand in there as well. When he was finished, he placed the pictures in his robes, and handed the camera to Peter. "Give this back to your master."  
  
With that, he started to leave. As he was about to exit the room, he heard Peter, who had just recovered from the shock of being photographed, call out, "W-why did you do that?"  
  
Severus stopped and turned around to glare at Peter. "I did that because I hate you. And one day I hope to have the pleasure of watching you scream while I torture. Then I hope to kill you. I did that because I never want you to talk to me. I want to be able to hold this over your head for the rest of your life. If you ever cross me again, I'll get you arrested and thrown into Azkaban."  
  
Then he left before Peter could say another word. As he made his way through the many Malfoy dungeons, his only thought was, 'Damn it! Now I'm going to have to clear that idiot Black.'  
  
The End 


End file.
